- Volkswagen is stepping up the pace for e-mobility
- Manufaktur is being developed into a hotbed for innovation, new areas of employment are being intensified
- Gunnar Kilian, Volkswagen AG Board Member for Human Resources: “The location in Saxony has a solid foundation for the Employment levels remain stable.”
Dresden – Volkswagen continues to step up the pace of its electric offensive: The ID.31 will be assembled at the Gläserne Manufaktur in Dresden in addition to the Zwickau plant. This was announced today by Gunnar Killian, Volkswagen AG Board Member for Human Resources, at a works meeting in Dresden. The ID.3 is the first model in the latest generation that Volkswagen is putting on the road under its global electric offensive. The Gläserne Manufaktur is to evolve into a Center of Future Mobility where innovative technologies are developed and tested in collaboration with industry partners and startups. Efforts to pursue new areas of business such as the function testing station are to be intensified. Vehicle collection is to be significantly expanded, and the location is to be made even more attractive as a destination for visitors and customers.
Group Board Member, Gunnar Kilian, underscored: “The decision to bring the ID. family to Dresden lays a solid foundation for the future of this location in Saxony. Employment levels remain stable. And at the same time, we are stepping up the pace for e-mobility. We need the Manufaktur as an important showcase to take our customers on board for e-mobility and digitalisation.”
The Manufaktur’s site manager, Lars Dittert, commented: “We are building one of Volkswagen’s models for the future with the ID.3 – that is great news for Dresden and Saxony. We will intensify our showcase function for e-mobility and forge ahead with technological developments at the Manufaktur.”
The Chairman of the Manufaktur’s Works Council, Thomas Aehlig, underscored: “Assembly of the ID.3 from fall 2020 is very good news for the team. We have thus safeguarded long-term employment for the core workforce and a positive future perspective for the location. Attention over the coming weeks must now turn to a comprehensive qualification program for the team.”
Jens Rothe, Chairman of the General Works Council at Volkswagen Sachsen, commented: “The uncertainty following the end of Phaeton production is now over. The temporary assembly of the e-Golf means the team in Dresden is extremely well prepared for the future of e-mobility and well equipped for our ID. family. Capacity at the site is efficiently managed and jobs are secure. The General Works Council has always made a great effort to achieve this over the past years.”
Following on from Zwickau, Dresden now becomes the second assembly plant in Germany for the ID.3. The first vehicles from the MEB family are scheduled to leave the assembly line in Dresden from fall 2020. The plant could possibly also assemble further models from the ID. family at a later point in time.
Moreover, in order to lay a solid foundation for the future of the Gläserne Manufaktur there are also plans to establish or expand new areas of business in the fields of vehicle collection, insourcing and vehicle function testing in the border tripoint of Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. In particular, the function of the location in Dresden as a vehicle collection point is to be expanded, with a specific focus on electric vehicles. Currently, some 1,300 vehicles per year are handed over to customers in Germany. This number is to be significantly increased, thereby providing secure jobs for some 380 employees.
Series production of the ID.3 in Zwickau began exactly two weeks ago at a ceremony attended by Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and Group CEO Dr. Herbert Diess. The Group plans to launch up to 75 all-electric models and some 60 hybrid vehicles in the marketplace through 2029. The Volkswagen Group is aiming to sell some 26 million electric vehicles by 2029, thus helping e-vehicles make the breakthrough. The Group is to spend some €33 billion on e-mobility alone.
The Gläserne Manufaktur has been placed on a solid footing for the future in recent months with innovative areas of business such as the “Future Mobility Incubator” and “Future Mobility Campus”, expansion of vehicle collection, the testbed for Production 4.0 and the “Software Development Center Production”. This successful transformation is now being accelerated and intensified even further.
1) ID.3: The vehicle is not yet available for sale in Europe.
2) e-Golf: power consumption, kWh/100 km (NEDC): combined 13,8-12,9; CO2– emission combined in g/km: 0; efficiency class: A+
About the Volkswagen brand:
The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand is present in more than 150 markets throughout the world and produces vehicles at over 50 locations in 14 countries. In 2018, Volkswagen delivered 6,2 million vehicles including bestselling models such as the Golf, Tiguan, Jetta or Passat. Currently, 195,878 people work for Volkswagen across the globe. The brand also has over 10,000 dealerships with 86,000 employees.
Volkswagen is forging ahead consistently with the further development of automobile production. E-mobility, smart mobility and the digital transformation of the brand are the key strategic topics for the future.
